Chikatetsu Ni
by reBeCCa a.k.a. dacrayZblaze1
Summary: UPDATE.Title means: On the Subway. She sees him from across the station, on a different train. A dark passion and desire consumes them both. Will they ever get what they want? K/K with hints of A/M.UPDATE! READ AND REVIEW! CHAPTER 11 IS UP !
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes: well I never quit do I? This has been an idea that's been plaguing me for ages upon ages. I finally worked it up enough in my head to the point I want to write it… yes im working on the chapter 6 of naughty dreams and chapter 2 of the battousai's woman. But somethings are harder in coming than others…**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. I don't own Kenshin, blah, blah, blah…**

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Chikatetsu Ni (On the Subway)

Chapter 1

The crush of bodies made her feel uncomfortable. But that was just as well, no one said that rush hour in Tokyo was pleasant. There was one thing for sure; it was not something you wanted to get used to. She gingerly pressed her way through the crowd, maneuvering her way through small openings left by people. Just then she was pressed sharply into a large man that reeked of body odor. Today was not going be one pleasant train ride.

She felt the crowd moving slowly. The train approached. An opening! She dashed through it and was caught in the swarm of bodies moving to the train. As long as she was not near those people who literally pushed patrons on the train she would be very fine.

Just then, the train pulled up into the crowded Tokyo station. It was 7:03 AM, the time the train came everyday, on both sides of the station. She hoped she would get her usual spot by the window on the other side of the car. The doors opened and a swarm of people exited. Twice the amount of people who exited tried to enter the already packed car. She found herself being shoved in and amazingly being able to breathe. As she entered the car she pushed her way through the people and made her way to the doors on the opposite sides. In a few seconds, the tall man there would move and it would be her chance to dash to her spot by the door. It happened and she dashed, narrowly missing hitting a small woman on the head. She looked outside of the window expectantly into the other train across the station from her.

In the other car, staring back at her was a young man. He was short and had purple but sometimes amber eyes. He had a well built frame, considering his short stature and longish red hair. Glasses that were in dark blue frames were on the bridge of his nose and almost pushed up to his eyes. His messy bangs fell in an almost elegant way onto his face.

This was the sight that made her brave rush hour every day. He was her fantasy man. She stared blatantly at him as she felt the customary goose bumps wash over her. His mouth opened slightly and his pink tongue showed a little. She felt desire pool to her middle. It was too bad that he was on the other side of the station, going to the opposite side of Tokyo from her. His now purple eyes went a dark amber color. They blazed with passion.

It was really too bad that everyday they were separated by glass window panes, metal doors and train tracks. She felt that she would give almost anything to test his passion just once. Then her mind might stop plaguing her. She looked at him and put a finger to lips and licked the top most part of her forefinger. The young man's expression became darker and she smiled at him. Just then both the trains began to move because they were leaving the station.

It was 7:05 AM and this morning, she had gotten bolder.

* * *

He pressed his head against the cold glass, willing himself to be calm. It would not do to get to work in his current state. This morning she had been bolder, her dark hair was loose and her sapphire eyes were cloudy with desire. He did not know how he could stand it. He would love to one day ditch work and wait for her on her side of the train, but he could not do that. All she was is a fantasy woman. She could only exist in his darkest fantasies, calling his name with the sweet voice he imagined her to have. 

She had gotten bolder, his desire darker.

One day, he would have her.

One day, he would know her name.

The idea planted itself in the fertile soil of his brain and germinated as the train sped away to a side of Tokyo opposite to where she was.

The Object of his Desire.

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**Author's note: yes its short, I promise a longer chapter soon. I just needed to set it up. NO! This story is not going to be rated T. its going to be rated M. I doubt that this is going to have that much humor in it. That's not the vibe I got from my idea. There wont be much humor in this. But at rare moments prolly. I don't really do the whole dark romance thing. But this is NOT going to be a comedy in the slightest.**

**I'm working on my other stories as we speak. They should be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: I'm highly glad for all of the positive reviews I got! They make me feel extremely happy. And motivated to bring this chapter faster to all of you lovely ppls. Don't you all love me for it! I know you do haha. I do believe I promised you all a longer chapter. I shall do my best! GANBARIMASU YO! (I will do my best).**

**Soo! From the end of the first chapter only a few minutes have elapsed. Like 2 or 1. Well u'll see wen u read.**

**Hai. Douzo!**

**Disclaimer: boy, if I owned Kenshin, a pg 13 anime would become by some mystic force NC-17. and I'm not even kidding… Luckily for the FCC I don't own Kenshin.**

**Haha.**

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Chapter 2

He pressed his fingernails into his palm so hard he nearly drew blood. He fought to regain control over himself. He willed the blood to retreat from between his legs but in vain. All his mind could recall was her finger being licked by her pink tongue. How he wanted to press his lips against hers and let his tongue explore the recesses of her seemingly soft mouth, trap her against a wall and take her. This made the blood rush faster to below his belt. He tried to forget her sapphire eyes that were cloudy with desire, and her loose hair. The loose hair made her appear innocent. The thought of wildness behind the innocent appearance drove him wilder with desire.

He was already slipping into one of his fantasies, the idea of pushing the woman out of his brain lost. His eyes darkened to deep amber. He stared down at his feet to hide his expression behind his bangs.

He was lost to the dark world of lust.

It was 7:07 AM.

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She sighed. The one thing that made her morning commute worthwhile was her glimpse of that delectable stranger. She couldn't believe what she did today, licking her finger like that. Apparently, he liked that. She remembered how his eyes looked and shivered. They were dark and full of passion, as if they promised nothing but delicious punishment. She was more than willing to fall into his hands. At least the smelly man was going to get off in one stop. Her heart desired nothing more than for the amber eyed man to get on her stop. Then life would be very worthwhile.

She always went to work in a haze of desire and oftentimes her hormones were hard to control. Many days she found her underwear to be damp, and this was all from a few very heated stares that lasted nothing but fleeting moments. Her heart got caught in her throat at the thought of one day meeting him. Her mouth went dry because she certainly would not know what to say.

No one understood why she could never keep a steady relationship for the past 2 years. For the past 2 years she had been laying eyes upon the handsome redheaded man. No one could measure up to him. He was the unobtainable object of her deepest desires. It seemed almost forbidden the way that she wanted him.

The train stopped and she did not notice it. She was lost in her own little fantasy world. A sharp jab from someone passing by brought her back into the real world with startling clarity. She looked up and saw that she was 2 stops away from her stop.

She braced herself to rush out. Soon a huge wave of people would leave the train.

It was 7:15 AM.

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He was finally out of the train. He stretched his arms, and shook his bangs out of his eyes. After stretching and getting feeling back into his limbs he pushed his glasses up his nose and started to walk out of the station. The familiar sights and smells of the morning hit his nose as he emerged from the station. He walked on, blindly, not paying attention to them. The only thing on his mind was the woman. She became something of an unattainable dream to him.

He felt it in his bones that he would one day see her. He had to or he would go insane with his desire for her, his lust. That naughty finger of hers, it made his brain go wild with imagining. There was a rush of blood, and a faster palpitating of his heart.

In the deepest recesses of his mind, he had declared her his woman.

He walked and soon he reached his job building. He looked up to read the familiar and shiny sign "National Library." He worked as a librarian there. The thought of new books made his head swirl with happiness. There was almost nothing he loved more than books.

Who would have thought that such a quiet and calm man housed such dark fantasies? He shook the thought out of his head, and told himself, _As they say, it is always the quiet ones._

It was 7:27 AM.

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She walked to her job, thinking to herself that it had been quite a long time since she had set foot into the library. It was not something she did regularly, but she liked to go once in a while to get books to read. She knew she really could not survive on manga reading alone.

_Man shall not live on manga alone…_ she thought to herself and laughed.

She walked briskly now, but not because she was late. She wanted to get a good spot by the mirror to do her make up with. Besides, tying a kimono properly required a _lot_ of time. It was almost a drag to dress up in one everyday. If it not for rush hour in Tokyo being the most ungodly thing since the dawn of time, she would just leave work dressed in her kimono.

But then again, rush hour in Tokyo was not all that bad. She smiled to herself. One day that man would be hers.

It was 7:30 AM.

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* * *

**Author's Notes: ok, thus far the chapters have to be a bit short, because I'm only introducing Kenshin and Kaoru. You still are not too sure about Kaoru's job but that will change in the next chapter. Trust me, it will all work out in the end. Stay with me for now.**

**Hopefully the next one will be longer. I feel like if I make it long, the story will not flow properly. It needs to be like this for now and I will keep increasing page length as we go along. Let us see how long it takes us to get thru one day in the lives of kk. That will be chapter next. Hopefully I can stretch it to a decent length of 8 or so pages. w00t. Worry not I tell you. Ha-ha.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes:well well well. I lost all my files. (yet again) and my account was removed from aff. Everyone's a bastard now adays. Wat madness is this! And still the madness of life continues. And here we are today. And I am going to present to thee a lovely new chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Nobuhiro Watsuki owns rk and all that other lovely business. I can only sedate my passion for it thru fanfiction. Besides im a poor person. You wont get any money….**

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Chapter 3 

She walked briskly, it was 7:31 AM and she had to be in work in four minutes. Soon she looked up and she saw a sign that read Kamatari no Kissa Ten ( Kamatari's Coffeehouse). She walked between the alley of shop and the apartment building next to it and entered through an entrance in the back. This was the coffeehouse where she had worked as a waitress for the past 3 years. She did not want to make her life's career a waitress, but the pay there was good and the work was decent, her friends were kind.

What she really wanted was to be a housewife. She wanted to raise children and have a loving husband and hold together a household. She never really told this ambition to many people, because they did not understand why such an intelligent female wanted this for her life. It was her dream since she was a child, she was not sure why.

She was just waiting for her knight-in-shining-armor to come sweep her off of her feet. But internally she knew she was waiting for her armor-clad devil to kidnap her into the night. She wanted to be subjected to the twisted passion she saw raging in that man's eyes. It was her secret dream; thinking of it caused her face to grow very somber. Her eyes shone darkly. She shook her head to try and clear her head of thoughts of dark and twisted passions from an amber eyed man. She instead filled her head with the image of a mild-mannered, purple eyed redhead reading to her children as she prepared the afternoon snack of cookies and tea.

That was the image that kept her cheerful during the day so her regular customers left her huge tips.

- - - - - - -

It was 7: 45 AM and he was shelving books as he usually was at this time. He had calmed down dome what by the time he reached work. A small trace of his passion was betrayed to the world by his eyes. The purple irises were edged in amber. His darker side was quite close to being released. The edge of the book shelf where he was putting books in was sturdy. For the past few months he had been entertaining a fantasy of taking her there. He knew that the shelf would not budge. It would be a time where the normally quiet man would not mind making a bit of noise in the library.

It was a section of the library people barely went to because they had to get special permission to go there. There were no windows except those that were really high up and close to the ceiling. They were never open. The walls of that room were thick. The floor was carpeted and there were a few armchairs there also. It had a very homey feel to it. It was the type of room where a person could make as much noise as they liked and it would never be heard.

He wanted to make her make as noise as possible. He desired nothing more than to take her hard against the shelf, and there would be no way she would be silent when he was doing that to her. He had no intention of keeping her quiet. He wanted to hear her voice, feel their naked bodies against each other. He could picture it so clearly, balancing her on his legs, carrying both of their weights, pounding her into the wooden shelf. He wanted to mark her smooth flesh with his mouth, kiss her soft lips, run his fingers through her fine black hair.

These were the thoughts that danced wickedly in his head. His face was impassive, save his eyes. They steadily grew more amber. He tried to keep his thoughts at a certain degree of tameness. If they got wilder, he would not be able to work. He might have to take a break and visit the men's room briefly. His mind settled on the image of her as a mother of his children. Any child of hers would be a beautiful child. He smiled at the mental image and got back to work, his eyes returning to a calm purple.

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The day ended. She sat in the table in the back taking off the kimono she had donned on that day. She also removed the light makeup she wore. She only felt make up was necessary for work and not for everyday life. She was content with her face as was and her cheeks were naturally rosy, her eyelashes long and her lips fine enough without any of the things normally applied to them. She only wore lip balm so her lips would not chap. She pulled her hair out of the bun it was in and it fell loose around her shoulders. She ran the comb through it rapidly so it would not tangle.

She walked out of the door, dressed in her regular clothing. She bid farewell to her boss. He smiled at her as she went through the door thinking it a shame that she did not have a man.

The image of quiet domestic life that had sustained a smile on her face for the whole day fled her. In its place, a picture of her and her fantasy man on a bed. He was over her and they were in the nude. In her fantasy he took her in such a fashion that her sturdy bed rocked. Her eyes shone with desire and her face grew serious as the image grew more daring and perverse.

Perhaps Fate would be kind and she would meet this man. She would meet him and he would sedate her wildest fantasies…

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Author's notes:  
:fans self: woo! That was certainly something. O man. I hope you enjoyed that. so yeah kaoru is a waitress. Not a geisha. Not a whore as someone had the gall to guess. The two ppl that guessed this merit applause. I commend you on guessing that.

**Well in the next chapter kaoru has a day off and she shall go to the library. And aoshi will take Kenshin to Kamatari No Kissa Ten. Our lovely pair will start interacting with other characters BUT I will still refer to them as he and she. I hope it won't confuse you. I can do that so u will follow perfectly (trust me I have had practice, if you write a story where no one has names its pretty easy to do).**

**I cant exactly say how it will turn out but just follow along and hopefully my mental plot won't twist itself and they will meet in good time.**

**(plz go read my story called the battousai's woman. Support your author!)**

**Thanks for your lovely reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's notes: w00t. you guys all rock. You left me such lovely reviews. I love u all! Omg. I was planning to hold out on u ppls a bit more, (cuz I love reviews lol) but its like 1 in the morn, and i have been watching naruto all the live long day. And I guess I want to make words flow across the screen.**

**Naruto is lovely by the way.**

**Oh and just so u no just cuz im the lovely author of this lovely story, I can make Kenshin as tall as I want (wow an inch taller.) and aoshi is much taller than most websites make him out to be, but I think he will be much more striking if he is tall as hell. So there.**

**Oh yesh, when I describe the restaurant, picture kinda like the akabeko.**

**I've translated all the japanese here. it is in parenthese ( ) thos things for you lack wits who dont know. and ifyou are an anime fan and you don't know wat "Konnichiwa" is, please get a new obsession! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Kenshin. Hell, I wish I owned more Kenshin manga than I do… I only own 1-5 how sad…  
**

**Chapter 4**

Kenshin's best friend was a tall quiet man. His name was Shinomori Aoshi. Shinomori Aoshi stood 6 foot 4 inches next to his 5 feet 3 inches. They were quite the pair when walking side by side. Aoshi often observed Kenshin and wondered why he had no woman in his life. Kenshin was short, but so were a lot of women in Japan. He had long hair, but it was bright red, and the fact that it was long did not seem to stop women and some men from ogling him. His friend was always particularly elusive about this subject.

When asked why he had no woman, Kenshin would smile and not respond. Sometimes this would lead Aoshi to think that his best friend preferred males. Had Aoshi not hinted that he knew males that were interested in Kenshin? It made no difference, Kenshin would only smile and shake his head no. Maybe he was biding his time until he found the right person. Who knew?

"Kenshin," Aoshi called in a quiet voice. The short redhead turned and looked.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu, Aoshi," Kenshin replied. He paused his walking waiting for the tall man to catch up. "Let us walk faster so we can get to our jobs faster."

Aoshi looked at him, his face stoic and devoid of expression. He wondered about his friend sometimes. They may have known each other for years, but he was a questionable sort of guy. What was he hiding behind that smile and innocent purple eyes? No one could really be sure. It had been years since Aoshi had seen the short man be serious about any woman. Kenshin claimed that no one held his attentions. How anyone could go so long without sex Aoshi never understood. **_His hand must be very good to him,_ **Aoshi thought nastily**. _But that is not the sort of thing I want to think of so soon after breakfast…_**

"So what of our plans this afternoon?" he asked Aoshi. "Where exactly is it that we are going?"

Aoshi cleared his throat. "It is a coffee shop that it on the other side of Tokyo. It is called 'Kamatari No Kissa Ten.'"

His curiosity took a hold of him then. "Why are we going to a coffee shop on the other side of Tokyo? There are about 20 in this area alone."

Aoshi stared into his purple eyes. "My fiancée works there. Besides the women who work there are exceptionally beautiful, but none as lovely as my Misao. The boss only employs women."

"He must be some major pervert," remarked the redhead.

"Actually no," Aoshi said. "He is quite gay. He cross dresses and everything."

"Interesting…" Kenshin voiced dryly.

- - - - - - -

It was Kaoru's day off. She slept in that day. Her subconscious had plagued her with delectable images of her fantasy man. When Kaoru awoke that day at 1 in the afternoon, she awoke in a haze of hormones. Her sheets were tangled and her body felt sweaty. She stretched and got out of her bed and into her slippers. She felt sticky and sweaty and the only answer to that problem was to take a bath.

Kaoru entered her bathroom. The room was a pale pink, the tiles bright pink and white in a checkered pattern. Her shower curtains were a very pale pink with huge flowers on them. She parted her curtains and set foot in the bathtub to bathe.

After Kaoru had taken her bath, she dressed. What was she to do with her life today? She wondered as she dressed. Well it only made sense to go to the library before she had any more overdue books.

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Kenshin and Aoshi entered the subway. Since it was not rush hour they were able to get seats. Aoshi opened his mouth as if to start a conversation but Kenshin pulled a book out from his book bag and began to read it. In a short time, he was very absorbed in his book. The book was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. Kenshin was lost to the world in the countryside of England, roaming around with Harry and Ron and Hermione. He had read the book over 20 times, but it just got better every time he read it.

Aoshi shook his head. Kenshin was such a bookworm. One couldn't have a conversation with the man without it reverting to books _somehow_.

Aoshi just pulled out his own book, Tales of Genji. He thought himself a more traditional literature sort of man. He liked Harry Potter, but he could not understand why such a grown man would be fanatical over children's books.

**_Kenshin needs a woman in his life_**, Aoshi thought. **_He wouldn't concern himself so much with little kid books_.**

- - - - - - - -

Kaoru wondered what books she should get out from the library that day. Maybe she could borrow a copy of the Kama Sutra! She was limber enough to probably do most of the positions in there. She had never seen a copy before and was curious. It was decided then; she'd borrow a copy of the Kama Sutra.

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It was close to opening time. It always happened like this. The tensions mounted high as all the waitresses were being dressed by the kimono dressers. The ones that were already dressed had their hair done in a bun. There were about ten girls that worked there. One to open the door, one to man the cash register, and the other eight to take orders. Not all of them worked at the same time and cash register duty and door duty rotated. Usually seven of them worked on a given day.

That day, Kaoru was off. The girls usually got seven days off a month, excluding Sundays because they were always closed on Sundays. It was called a coffeehouse but it was more of a restaurant. It was a medium sized restaurant, but they always were packed with people. There was a very homey feel to the place; all of the waitresses were polite and friendly. The booths were built into the wall and one had immense privacy in them.

Misao patted the side of her head. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror and a applied a bit of blush to her cheeks. She slathered on the shiny lipgloss and put on mascara and eyeliner. Her application of makeup completed, she stretched her arms breathed deeply. The day had finally truly begun.

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"You will like this place," Aoshi assured Kenshin. "The food is extremely good, so is the coffee. And it is a plus that all the waitresses are good looking females. You know, my fiancé told me once of this single girl that worked there…" Aoshi's voice trailed off thoughtfully.

Kenshin's eyes flashed briefly. "I am not interested!" he hissed at Aoshi a bit forcefully. Two people near them turned to look at Kenshin. He muttered a quick "**Sumimasen**(I'm sorry or excuse me)," and pushed his way through the crowd.

Aoshi shook his head and dove into the pulsing Tokyo crowd after Kenshin.

Kenshin's brain was swirling with thought. Had no one gathered that he was just not interested in other females? The one that he was interested was so close, yet so far from his grasp. He felt it in his gut that he and that woman would meet one day…

One day…

"Kenshin!"

Kenshin looked up, his eyes had gone amber for a moment but they instantly reverted back to bright amethyst. Aoshi was slightly alarmed at how fast his eye color changed.

"Yes, Aoshi?"

"We are here," Aoshi replied. He pointed at a black sign with bright orange lettering.

Aoshi held the door open for Kenshin. They entered inside.

- - - - - - - - -

A tall, willowy girl with dyed cherry red hair greeted them with a bow and a, "**Irasshaimase **(Welcome)."

A short waitress wearing a deep blue kimono led them to a booth. Her obi was black with a smattering of white flower petals. Her massive amounts of hair were pinned precariously on her head. The dark locks strained against the pins. Her large eyes were sea-foam green.

She indicated that they should sit down and she handed them menus. They ordered. Kenshin looked at her. There was a small golden name tag pinned to her chest. It read "Misao" in hiragana.

As the pretty, young waitress Misao went to retrieve the food, Kenshin addressed Aoshi. "So this is your fiancé?"

"**Aa**(Yeah)," Aoshi replied in his monotone.

"She is very pretty," Kenshin commented.

"She is not pretty! She is beautiful," Aoshi said sharply. "There is a difference."

Kenshin shrugged as if to say, _T**o each his own**._ There was a difference between pretty and beautiful, Kenshin knew that to be true. However, there was only one woman that he considered to be beautiful. It was his goddess from the train. She was the embodiment of loveliness.

_**Beautiful**,_ he thought, **_it would be beautiful if she came while I was above her… it would be beautiful indeed…_**

After Kenshin and Aoshi had eaten, Misao took her first break of the day. The girls were all allotted two fifteen minute breaks during the day, and an hour for lunch when the shop closed up so everyone could eat.

Aoshi introduced them. "Misao, this is Himura Kenshin, Kenshin this is my fiancé, Machimaki Misao."

"**Konnichiwa**, Kenshin-san. **Yoroshuku, ne**?" Misao said (Hello, Kenshin. Please treat me well)

"**Konnichiwa**, Misao-dono."

_**So formal!** _Thought Misao, surprised.

"So, Kenshin-san, tell me about yourself." Misao said.

"I am sure you know about me from Aoshi," he began. "I am a librarian where Aoshi works. We met there a few years ago and all. I just love to read."

"There must be more to you, Kenshin-san!" Misao exclaimed. "You're not married are you? 'Cause if you're single—"

"I thank you, but no," Kenshin cut her off.

Aoshi stepped between them; he could feel Kenshin's temper on the rise. Kenshin would have never come if he felt that someone was going to try to set him up with someone.

"Ne, Misao-chan?" Aoshi started. "Tell Kenshin about that anime you love. You know about that samurai with the cross-shaped scar that travels around?"

- - - - - - - -

Kaoru stood in front of the library. It was a few stops away from her house, on the opposite side of where she took the train to work. Even though there was a library quite near to her apartment, this one was better. It had every book she could ever hope to read and then some. Besides it was one of the few libraries that actually carried manga. Any library that carried manga was worth visiting.

She was not much of a book worm. More like a book hound if such a term could exist. Kaoru smiled at the thought of all the books she'd borrow. Maybe there would be hot librarians there. She had seen one once. He was very tall and had dark hair that fell in a very becoming way into his eyes. His eyes were ice blue, and he had a sexy mouth. He had been very quiet, and a man of few words when she had asked him for help.

Kaoru entered the library, clutching her overdue books in a bulging plastic bag. Her blood quickened at the sight of the new books. There was nothing quite like new books to delight Kaoru. She lugged the bag to the circulation desk to return the books. Her overdue fines, for once, did not go over 1000 yen. It was odd to her mind.

She marched right over to the new books. She started to select books at random because their covers or titles were interesting. The next three weeks were certain to be full of adventure as far as books were concerned. Kaoru wondered what type of sex could one have in the library. It would have to be very fun because a person couldn't really make much noise in a library, they'd have to be very careful. It was just the sort of adventure that Kaoru was looking for. Wouldn't it be just wonderful if whoever she fell in love with loved books as much as she did. Kaoru closed her eyes and brought her head against the bookshelf. Her mind assaulted her with a sudden image of the man from the train beckoning her to be quiet and taking her amongst a pile of books.

That would be utterly interesting.

- - - - - - - -

Kenshin had spent the entire day with Aoshi and Misao. He felt it was time to go home. He bid them farewell and headed towards the train.

- - - - - - - - -

Kaoru exited the library happily. She held seven brand new books. Granted it was only enough for one week, but the books were new all the same. Brand new books, manga, and anime, what more could a girl want?

Oh yes, there was always hot sex. Kaoru happily pursued this thought until she got to the train station.

- - - - - - - -

The train pulled into his station. Kenshin closed his book with a snap and got off the train. Across the station the opposite train pulled in and Kaoru got out of the train. As she was walking towards the exit, she looked back on an impulse, so did Kenshin. He caught her gaze, her laughing eyes smoldering with passion as soon as he looked into them. He froze to the spot and she was rooted to hers with his powerful gaze. For that brief moment, it was as though only they existed in the world. Then Kenshin and Kaoru got swallowed up by the afternoon rush hour crowd.

It was 4:03 PM and the wild beast of Desire was begging to be let out of its cage.

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**Author's Notes: there you have it folks! The illustrious chapter 4. I am sry that it took so long. You see I had intended to write this many months ago, when volume 24of rk was out. And that was 3 whole volumes ago (aka 3 whole months ago). What can I say? Too much drama in my life.**

**School, ex boyfriends, funerals, ap tests, friends and ppls stabbing you in the back. Too much anime (aka naruto) crack. **

**Last week I watched 21 episodes of naruto in one day. Haven't done that in a while.**

**But anyways life carries on.**

**IM GOING TO JAPAN:dances:**

**So yesh. Review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes****: Woot. Thanks for the reviews. You all are much loved. Well I've just come back from japan. Boy am I ever glad to be in nyc. Tho I loved japan. I didn't love the flight over. stabs yfu ppl twas positively hellish. Ahh well bein in japan has given me lots o lovely ideas. I rode the subway in Nagoya a lot. So I no wat subways in japan look like. Kinda like in ny but much cleaner. Ah I got the Kenshin kaden AND volume 28 of rk and a rerelease of volume 1. in Japanese.**

**Japan is good for the soul my loves.**

**Anyways. Carrying on with our lives**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_His amber eyes bored into her large sapphire orbs. He was directly above her and she looked to his chest, which was heaving rapidly in tempo with his panting breath. His long red hair hung around their heads like a curtain, closing her vision so that she saw nothing but his face, his amber eyes. One of his hands was at her hip, and his other hand was warming her entrance for him. He was poised to enter her—_

BEEEEEEEP!! BEEP! BEEP!!

Her alarm screeched its wake up call. She scowled. Another perfect dream, interrupted. She was not getting anything in real life; the fates might at least be kind enough to let her finish her dreams. _Apparently_, she thought wryly, _that's asking for too much. _She got off of her bed and began to perform her morning stretches.

She walked to her bathroom and grabbed her tooth brush to brush her teeth. A huge yawn caused foam to dribble down her mouth and she frowned at her reflection as she cleared it off. She washed her face, removed her clothes and stepped into her bath. She used the shower and lathered up well and rinsed off. She looked at the tub with its heavy lid and thought that a quick dip in the hot water seemed like too much effort.

As she dressed, she remembered that her monthly pass had expired yesterday. That made her mad. Today she would miss her early train because she had to buy a new pass. If she missed her early train, she would not see her future lover…

It was starting to look like a bad day already…

- - - - - -

He stared at his face in the mirror. Large amethyst eyes stared back at him. His long red hair, damp from his bath, hung loose down his back. He reached for the comb to start detangling his hair. He yanked the large plastic comb through the tangled locks. He reached for the blow drier and dried his hair. His annoyed face stared back at him. He wondered to himself, what could he change about his appearance? He looked at his face. There was a substantial part of him… it gave him so much hassle in the mornings…

He ran the comb rapidly through his almost dry red mane. Then he gathered up his mass of vivid hair in his left hand and tied it up with a hair tie with his right hand. After that he stretched and cracked his back. Combing his hair was always a hassle.

He walked into his kitchen, which was right next to the bathroom and opened his refrigerator. He took his bread and his butter. He stood at a counter and buttered the bread. Looking at his wristwatch, he decided he had no time to toast the bread and ate it cold. After putting everything away, he grabbed his keys and his glasses, slipped into his shoes at the door and rushed out.

- - - - - - -

She looked up at the ceiling of the train. The press of the crowd allowed for little else. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her bangs were in her eyes. It was high time for her to take a pair of scissors and hack off her hair in the front. Well hack wasn't exactly what she was going to do, she chided herself. _What an exciting life I lead_, she thought wryly_, I get to cut off my hair!_ The train pulled into a station, and for a moment, she was able to move. Then the crowd pressed up against her, more tightly—if possible—than before.

A few stops later she managed to get off the train. She emerged into the busy Tokyo street and started to dart through the crowd of people. She barely made it to work on time. As soon as she walked in, her boss began chiding her for scarcely making it on time. She took it all in stride and placated him with a mumbled, "Hai, hai."

The whole day she remained distracted and far removed from everyone else. Even her usual costumers seemed to realize that she was not there.

Later in the day, Kaoru's boss pulled her aside. "Kaoru-chan, are you feeling alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern. "You look rather unenergetic!"

Kaoru looked at her boss, his concern made her feel slightly guilty. "Iie Kamatari-san…" she said. "Today is just one of those days I guess…"

"Well!" Kamatari exclaimed. "Your negative waves of energy are disrupting the service of my customers! You are dismissed for the day."

Kaoru did not protest and went to the back to change into her street clothes and take her leave.

- - - - - - -

He sat in the salon chair biting his lip. His flaming hair was cascading down his back. His barber stood behind him smiling.

"Ne, Kenshin-san, are you sure about this?" asked the smiling barber.

"Hai! I am, I am!" he exclaimed through grit teeth. His barber shrugged and gathered his hair. He watched with trepidation as his barber approached his red hair with a large pair of scissors. Kenshin began to tremble slightly.

"It might be better if you close your eyes, Kenshin-san," his barber advised. He shut his eyes as though someone had pointed a gun to him.

The large _snap_ alerted him to open his eyes. He stared at his reflection, his eyes wide with fear.

"See!" exclaimed his ever-smiling barber. "it does not look bad at all!"

He proceeded to even it out as Kenshin internally weeped for his hair.

- - - - - - -

She stood before her mirror, a pair of scissors in her hand. She gave her hair dirty looks underneath her bangs. Why would they grow to such an unreasonable length without her realizing it? WHY?! She sighed and cut away slowly to make it even.

THERE!

Her bangs touched the edges of eyebrows. _Not too long, not too short,_ she thought, _in short, it is perfect._

Well… it was one thing in her life that wsa in order…

- - - - - - -

* * *

**Author's note: before you all chase me with the pitchforks and torches, LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF!! Uhm… yeah so I wasn't in japan for a yr. I was in japan for 6 weeks right.. yeah. And uhm. I have t his thing I needa do. Its called living right… and I have this other thing that I kinda needed to do, and it was want to write right.. yeah. I love you all I really do I just didn't feel like writing. I was so not motivated in this life of mine. Then what with, emotional problems, hormonal problems, problems with men in my life, problems with boys in my life, applying to college, stressing out about college, flippign out about things in my life, you know.. . yeah. DON'T KILL ME.**

**I know this chapter was kinda weak. But YOU LOVE ME. YOU LOVE ME DORMED J00!! LEAVE ME A REVIEW. Motivate me in life…**

**Yoroshiku onegaishimasi (please)**

**-Rebecca**


	6. Chapter 6

Author's notes: you all complain a hell of a lot about Kenshin's hair! Omg. In the last volume, Kenshin's hair is cut. In the Kenshin kaden his hair is cut ppl! And Kaoru did not cut her hair, she trimmed her bangs cuz they was too long. Reading is fundamental my dears!! Anyway! Otherwise, thanky for your reviews. They are motivating me to update sooner (truly they are). I'm slightly sick of gorging on anime. I've been doing nothing else for about six months now. It is high time for me to make words flow across the screen.

And don't hate on Kenshin's hair. Its too awesome for your life.

Chapter 6

Kamatari emerged from the Tokyo subway and out on the bustling street. For once, he did not wear his usual four-inch heels and flowy skirt. He was not even wearing a ribbon in his hair. It was quite safe to say that Kamatari was dressed as a man. The absence of his usual clothing bothered him. He did not feel comfortable in the starched shirt and the crisp slacks. The highly polished male shoes he wore bothered him deeply. For crying out loud, he was even wearing a blazer and a TIE! Who would have thought he would ever return to wearing a tie? If only his dearly departed mother could see him now… she surely was turning in her grave. Not even to her funeral did Kamatari dress as a man.

And yet, here he was, dressed in a suit, complete with tie. He even held a briefcase. For good measure, he wore a pair of thick black glasses that he had bought at a flea market. Of course, the lenses did not have a prescription to them. He was _almost_ indistinguishable from the average Japanese businessman. A shudder coursed through him at the thought of being comparable in anyway to those old washed up has beens. _All Japanese business men are so cut and dry_, Kamatari thought to himself. _Why would anyone want to be like them?_ He regarded the briefcase in his hand with a look of utmost disdain. His look seemed to imply that it was solely the fault of the briefcase that he might be confused for a Japanese businessman.

Kamatari's businessy, no-nonsense, highly polished, black shoes led the way to a real estate office. He rang the doorbell and was ushered in by a pretty clerk with an "Irasshaimase (welcome)."

Kamatari bowed in return to her and sat down.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu, Kamatari-san!" said the man sitting at the desk enthusiastically. "I am so glad that you have made it here today."

"So," Kamatari started after returning the greeting, "Everything is in order?"

"Hai!" replied the other man, much too enthusiastic for the morning, in Kamatari's opinion. "All we need is your sign here and here." The man indicated two lines on a piece of paper. Kamatari dug out a pen and licked the tip right before signing on both lines, he read the paper before.

"Arigatou gozaimashita," Kamatari bowed to the man and got up and left.

_At least that is over_, thought Kamatari. _Now I can go home and put on some real clothing!_ Kamatari thought about the new clothing he bought him self a few weeks ago. _I can wear that new skirt and shirt I bought. I am _soo_ glad that bohemian is in this season!_

Kamatari let out an involuntary squeal and ran for the train.

--------

"Ojyama shimasu!(a/n: I'll explain on the bottom)" yelled out Misao cheerfully as she entered Aoshi's bright yellow house in the Tokyo suburbs. Aoshi had bought the house three months into their relationship and told her it would be their house to raise their children in. Misao smiled at the memory as she slipped out of her customary four-inch heels. Aoshi's sneakers and work shoes lay side by side.

"Ne! Aoshi!" she yelled. "Aoshi! I'm here! What did you want to talk about?"

Aoshi appeared, walking down the stairs. He was scratching his stomach and covering a yawn at the same time. "Must you scream, Misao?"

"So sorry Aoshi!" she half-shouted in his ear as she reached up to kiss him hello. Aoshi returned the kiss and then after a few moments began to comb his hair with his fingers. He indicated that she should go into the living room and sit down.

Misao sat on the couch and Aoshi's grey cat Nana began to rub itself against Misao's legs. She picked it up and put it in her lap and began to play with the cat. Aoshi smiled and walked to the kitchen to prepare tea for himself. He thought back to how Misao and he met. She had come into the library to return a book. She dropped the book before she reached the desk and Aoshi bent down at the same time as Misao had. They both reached for the book and as Misao picked it up; she bumped into Aoshi's chest. And that was the start of a beautiful relationship.

It was now 6 months later, and Aoshi and Misao were engaged to be married. Many people thought they were crazy, and most people told Aoshi and Misao that it was way too soon for t hem to be thinking about marriage. Whereas Aoshi told everyone, "I am 34, and madly in love with a woman named Misao. It is not soon enough if I start thinking about marriage and children now."

The tea kettle whistled, startling Aoshi out of his reverie. He looked around and suddenly realized that he was in the kitchen. _Snap out of it, Aoshi,_ he reprimanded himself sternly and walked over to a cupboard to pull out two tea cups. He poured the tea and set both the cups on the table in the living room.

"Hai, Misao!" he called in his low voice. "Come drink the tea so that we may talk."

Misao set the cat Nana down on the floor and walked towards the table. She sat on the bench and Aoshi sat on the chairs on the other side. Aoshi gave Misao one of his rare smiles and started to sip his tea.

"Aoshi, what do you want?" asked Misao after several moments' silence. Aoshi did not look at her, but simply continued to drink his tea. He set down his cup and simply stared at Misao.

"Mou! Aoshi!" Misao cried.

"Yes?" Aoshi replied, annoyingly calm.

"What did you want to talk about?" Misao stated again.

"Oh yes. Well you know I have that single friend I introduced you to. And I know that you have your best friend—"

Misao cut across his statement, "Well you know I already tried to set them up! Kaoru-chan said she wanted nothing to do with it! And your friend was so resistant to the idea! I can't see why though."

"Well," Aoshi said carefully. "He hasn't had very good relationships. The one serious relationship he had a while ago really did not work out in the worst possible way."

"Why?" asked Misao.

"Well, he was madly in love with the woman," explained Aoshi. "And it seemed that everything was going perfectly. And then Kenshin met her brother… her very loving and overprotective little brother. . . Kenshin claimed that there was not a weird and too close of a relationship between them. Kenshin's relationship was shaken, but it survived. Until…"

"Until?" prompted Misao.

"Until Kenshin walked into the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. Her brother was there with her."

"Well, what was the problem?" Misao inquired, interrupting suddenly.

"Don't interrupt!" Aoshi reprimanded and continued. "well anyway, when Kenshin walked in to see his girlfriend and her brother, they were engaged in a serious kiss."

Misao's large green eyes widened with fear and disgust.

"Yes!" said Aoshi, answering her silent question. "They were involved in an incestuous relationship. They had been concealing it from everyone for about ten years."

"How did Kenshin react?" Misao asked.

"From what he told me, he punched his girlfriend's little brother and ran into the room and began to throw things blindly into a suitcase. Then he lived with me for a bit until he got another apartment."

"Hmm," said Misao thoughtfully. "From everything you've ever told me about Kenshin and his personality—"

"—and everything you've told me about your friend Kaoru—"Aoshi continued.

"—One might go so far as to say—" Misao countered

"They're perfect for each other!" Aoshi and Misao exclaimed in unison.

Aoshi and Misao stood up from the table to put the tea cups in the dishwasher. After Misao put down the cup, Aoshi scooped her up and carried her up the stairs bridal style.

"Lets practice for our married life," he whispered in her ear.

- - - - -

Kaoru sat in her kitchen, eating instant ramen. As she held the noodles to her very ready mouth, she released a very violent sneeze.

"Damn!" she cried. "Someone must be talking about me or plotting against me…"

She grabbed a few tissues to clean up the mess on her counter.

"Damn them!!" Kaoru muttered. "They messed up my dinner…"

- - - - - -

Kenshin lay soaking in the tub in his bathroom. He poured the hot water over his head and suddenly he sneezed.

"Did I catch a cold?" he wondered aloud. He thought about it as he poured more water over himself, waiting for another sneeze. "It cant be… Someone must be speaking about me…"

- - - - - -

Author's notes: hides behind a huge shield. yes I know you would like to kill me for this probably. Props to you if you can guess kenshin's former girlfriend. And why would I make it incestuous? CUZ I HATE HER –STABVIOLENTLYDIEYOUEVILOLDWHOREDIE- anyway. So you love me for updating. I promise yo u that one day something will happen between Kenshin and kaoru. How soon? God only knows cuz right now I certainly don't. and it might be how you are thinking that they'll meet, and most likely it is not how you are thinking that they will meet.

Oh yeah. Just so you know. Ojyama shimasu means lit. I am being a nuisance. And jap ppls usually (well I was made to anyway) say it when they go into other ppls houses. Or maybe it was a Aichi ken thing. But in ranma they say "Gomen Kudasai" I dunno. Maybe I should ask a jap person.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** **no! don't worry, I havent dieded. I'm still here. I'm still very much alive my dears. I have just started the collegeness. I am bored. It is 1 in the morn, and I wish to make words flow across the screen. I do not feel like watching any anime I have at the moment. I do not feel like working on a regular story so lo and behold, LE FANFICTION!YES. I have no life.**

**But you love me for it.**

* * *

**Chikatetsu Ni: Chapter Seven**

She often wondered it as she was squished by the throng of polite Japanese citizens, _how would it feel if _he _were pressed up against me? _She felt that she needed him to crush her with the weight of his body. She wanted to feel the heaviness of his form over hers. His smoldering amber eyes promised always promised all sorts of wicked delights, and she could only imagine what they were. She sighed, because it seemed that she would never find out if it were true or not. Kaoru noticed that Misao was beginning to get more insistant. Didn't she understand the word "No?" It was as though she had a mental block that prevented her from hearing the damned word.

Kaoru did not know how much more persuasive she was going to have to be with the woman. _Maybe knocking her upside the head with a wok would work…_ she thought to herself. The train pulled into a station, causing Kaoru to be pulled out of her stupor. She looked around frantically and realized that this was not her stop. She calmed down and looked at the ground. The sensible shoes of some and the eccentric shoes of others got Kaoru wondering. What were these people like in life? Were they as boring or as exciting as their shoes made them out to be? Or maybe they just had an odd set of fashion sense.

Kaoru looked at her own shoes. What did they say about her? It was a well-worn pair of beat up, black Adidas. It could say many things. It could say she was poor, it could say she could not let go of the past. Or it could just say she liked to be comfortable. Kaoru continued to think in this odd vein of shoes. What would her shoes say to a potential lover? They couldn't say much, she thought. But how would she know? Why was she on the train analyzing shoes? It didn't matter much, she decided, because Japanese people always went barefoot in people's houses.Her mind went in such odd directions sometimes.

It was the first time Kaoru did not think of her mysterious lover on her train ride. Before she began to notice him, she used to think about people and their shoes all the time. Shoes, the way people walked, the way they dragged their feet, it always told her a lot about people. She wondered what kind of shoes he wore.

His walk must be elegant, she told herself. If his walk was elegant, continued Kaoru's irregular thought process, then his lovemaking must be that way also. She laughed at herself as the train pulled into her stop. Every thought she had in some way managed to migrate back to this man.

This man who existed in her deepest and darkest fantasies…

This man who existed on the other side of the train tracks.

* * *

It was Misao's turn to help in the kitchen today. Over her kimono, she wore an apron, her hair was tied up and in a hair net so it would not get into the food. Misao looked at the fish she was supposed to be slicing with disgust. She chopped of the head of the fish with much vehemence, as though she was trying to reap revenge for indigestion. The head of the fish eyed her sadly from two feet across the room.

_How could someone_, thought Misao angrily, _as good looking asKaoru be content to stay SINGLE?! _She chopped up the fish she was supposed to be slicing irately. _I don't know how the hell she can stand it! Himura is perfect for her. I have to make them meet even if I have to trick her into it!_ She continued to chop away away at the fish.

Her angry thoughts seemed tomake her deaf to everyone around her. The cook shook her steadily, yelling, "Misao-chan! Misao-chan!"

Misao was forced out of her thoughts and replied, "Hai hai! What is it?"

The cook pointed sadly at the fish. "You were supposed to be slicing it… You turned it into mincemeat…"

Misao gasped a "Sumimasen," and bowed deeply.

The cook gave her a stern look and said, "Misao-chan, go wait on tables instead. Inform Kamatari-san that I wish for Kaoru-chan to help me instead."

"Hai…" Misao turned slowly and walked out of the kitchen. After the apron and hairnet came off, she went to wait tables with a scowl on her face.

_DAMN YOU KAORU!! DAMN J00! _Misao thought as she took orders from customers.

* * *

Aoshi and Kenshin stood in line at McDonald's, waiting to order food. Kenshin had possesed a sudden urge to eat a McChicken and insisted that they go to McDonalds for lunch. _Just like a pregnant woman,_ thought Aoshi, looking down at the redhead; _only not as insistant, or with as weird of an urge._ After getting his order of chicken salad and an orange juice, Aoshi and Kenshin sat upstairs and started to eat. Kenshin seemed to be eating his McChicken and fries with almost indecent haste. Aoshi ate slowly, chewed methodically and stared at Kenshin.

"Na, Kenshin." He said in his quiet voice. Kenshin looked up. He was about to take another bite. His gaze questioned Aoshi. "I have a question for you."

Kenshin bit into the sandwich. He nodded his head a little so that Aoshi had permission to ask the question. He started to chew the sandwich.

Aoshi looked extremely serious. Kenshin's eyes betrayed a feeling of slight worry at the question that Aoshi was about to ask.

"Be entirely honest with me Kenshin… I am your best friend, remember that. Are you gay?" Aoshi asked the last three words in a rush.

Kenshin stopped chewing his food to give Aoshi an incredulous look. He swallowed the food and continued to give Aoshi a disbelieving look. Kenshin decided to place some fries in his mouth, then drink soda. Aoshi looked at kenshin, expecting an answer, but Kenshin kept on eating.

"Because if you are gay Kenshin," Aoshi continued in the silence, "that is perfectly ok too. If you are hiding your boyfriend from me, and that's why you can't get a girlfriend, I understand. I mean, there is too much stigma in this society about gay men. Its almost like if it is taboo. But, I'm here for you Kenshin."

Kenshin gave Aoshi another look. Aoshi realizd that for the first time in his life, he had rambled. His eyes widened and he couldn't believe that so many words had come out of his mouth. Kenshin put down his soda. _Here comes the big confession,_ thought Aoshi triumphantly. Kenshin placed his hands over Aoshi's hand and started to bat his eyelashes at him. To Aoshi's horror, he found that he could not release his hand from Kenshin's vice-like grip.

"The truth is Aoshi," spoke Kenshin. His voice lowered to a dramatic whisper. "I love you! I have always loved you. That is why it has been so hard for me to find a girlfriend! Because I have a secret passion for you!"

Aoshi looked horrified. How could he not have known that—?

Kenshin gave Aoshi an angry look. "You bastard! Is that what you wanted to hear? That I was gay for you? Don't be ridiculous. Even if I went that way, you're too tall! I like someone, but it's complicated. And yes, it's a woman."

Aoshi apologized and said, "Well I get worried. Maybe you were hiding something important from me! Can't a guy worry about his friend?"

"'Cause I'm single, I'm gay?" Kenshin countered. "Get with the times Aoshi. Such archaic thinking won't get you anywhere in life."

"So says the one who is not getting laid.""That was a low blow, Shinomori!" Kenshin exclaimed, throwing a piece of ice at Aoshi.

"So…" Aoshi began. "Tell me about this girl you like."

Kenshin glared at him. "No."

Aoshi sighed. He was back to square one with this idiot.

* * *

Aoshi massaged Misao's shoulders later that night. "You seem tense, Misao. What's wrong?"

Misao frowned. "Kaoru is as stubborn as a mule! She won't listen to reason. She won't let me set her up on one single date! You've met her, and you know she'd be perfect for Himura…"

"Yeah, I know." Aoshi replied. "You know, I asked him if he was gay today, he pretended to be in love with me, and then he told me he likes someone. He refused to tell me who."

Misao shook her head. "What we need to do is create a situation where it is unavoidable that they meet each other! Even if we have to trick them. Are you ready to be devious Aoshi?"

Aoshi nodded. "Stealth is my middle name."

* * *

**Author's notes:** **its been a while. I know. Luckily, this chapter is finally to my damn liking. I was going to submit it earlier this week, but it was such a piece of crap that I nearly hurt myself because of how mad I got! Uh. You see the first break that ends where kaoru is thinking? That was all I was gonna give you. But then I figured you all would be pissed the hell off at me, and I went back and wrote this instead. Ah. Anime is good. So I love you. Hope you like this. Don't be mad, they'll meet in a few more chapters. But now apparently I have to throw aoshi and misao play ing match maker up in there. This was not my original intention, but it makes for interesting plot. Mwuahahah!!**

**I know how and when Kenshin and Kaoru are going to meet. I don't know what chapter that will be in, but I know at what point in the story it will be. This wont turn into a lemon, cuz will axe me off if it does, but I'll make it limy so don't worry my loves. You perverts can have some of your fill.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note**: Maybe I don't have a real excuse for not updating in such a long time. I'll just take this opportunity to blame real life for getting in the way. College, depression, anxiety. All that good stuff. But NOW, the writing life beckons to me again. I want to make lovely words flow across the screen. I was fighting with this story, I really was. It wants to be comedy, but I don't want it to be comedy. I think the addition of the subplot of Aoshi and Misao just ended up making it that way. Aoshi is totally OOC but I think that Misao just makes him act like a fool in love. And it's A/U anyway. Why should people act in character? Boo.

Without further ado….

**Chapter 8**

Strong arms held hers into place. Possessive amber eyes peered into hers. The face split into a feral grin. There was a promise of punishment in those amber eyes. Quite suddenly, she found herself being tied to the bed. She had been too busy looking into his eyes, that she did not realize he was tying her hands to the bed post.

She opened her mouth in protest, but he placed a slender finger to her lips and shook his head. She was not to make a sound.

She pulled against her bonds and found that she could remove them from her hands or remove them from the bed. The amber eyes were amused with her futile attempts of escape. He put his naked body against hers and stopped her movements. His short, red hair tickled her cheeks.

A pair of lips pressed kisses her slender neck. His body moved slightly against hers. She was frustrated. She could not move her hands to touch him.

She was completely at his mercy, but the amber eyes showed her none—

"_Kaoru!"_

"Huh?"

"Are you listening to what I asked you?" said Misao.

"Uh, could you repeat it, Misao-chan?" Kaoru said. "I didn't hear you."

"I met this guy," Misao said. "He's perfect—"

"No."

"But you haven't even given me time to explain," Misao said hurriedly before Kaoru could cut her off again. "He's a great guy. And he's cute too. I think you two would hit it off!"

"No. I'm not interested in anyone. If he's so great, why don't you go out with him?"

Kaoru and Misao sat behind the restaurant, taking their lunch break. Kaoru had a modest boxed lunch, and Misao took drags from a cigarette and puffed grey clouds into the air. Kaoru placed a bit of rice in her mouth and chewed it slowly.

"Oh, Kaoru, you know I already have my fiancé! And he's perfect. And tall, and so beautiful."

"Right," said Kaoru in between bites. "I'm sure he is. Listen, I've never even met this guy once, and suddenly you live with him and you're going to get married. Aren't you rushing into things?"

"Oh, Kaoru," Misao sighed. "You don't understand romance yet. You don't have anybody. Poor lonely Kaoru."

Kaoru said nothing. Misao was the one who did not understand. She would never understand the lust that burned in Kaoru's depths for that unknown stranger. She felt his amber eyes reaching her from across that platform every morning. She felt his passions in her dreams. There could be no other, and there was no other. Kaoru was forever faithful to the man from the subway.

He was not the keeper of her heart, but the master of the passion that coursed within her.

Misao would never understand that.

"I'm not lonely."

"I don't understand you, Kaoru," Misao said shaking her head. She put out the cigarette against the side of the building. "You're beautiful, and you don't go out with any man. You haven't had a relationship in a couple of years. Do you have a secret man somewhere?"

Kaoru laughed. "Not exactly, but let's go with that."

"What's with all of the mystery! I really wish you'd just let me set you—"

"No! Do I need to tell you in Chinese?!"

"Ok, Ok!" said Misao. "I got it. Will you at least meet me for dinner today? We gotta talk wedding details."

"Fine." Kaoru finished eating her bentou and leaned against the wall. Kaoru and Misao entered back in the café. Kamatari handed them their large trays and ordered them to start serving guests.

-----

Sunlight streamed in through the vaulted windows of the staffroom. Under the quiet hum of the florescent lights and electronic fans, Kenshin slurped instant ramen noodles noisily as Aoshi stared at him intently. Kenshin's purple eyes betrayed no discomfort to Aoshi's incessant staring. He paused momentarily to tuck loose strands of hair behind his ear.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Aoshi?"

"Come to dinner with me today," Aoshi said.

Kenshin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He turned to face Aoshi and put down his cup ramen. "Why? Are you going to try and set me up again?"

"No!" Aoshi said. "We have to talk about my wedding plans anyway. The wedding's going to be in a few more months."

Kenshin stared at Aoshi suspiciously for a few moments. There was no hint of anything in those ice-blue eyes. Kenshin could not be sure of anything. He needed to keep his guard up. Aoshi smiled at him in a winning sort of way. This made a red-flag go up in kenshin's head. Then Aoshi's long face returned to being impassive, the cheek muscles frozen firmly into place. There was not as much as a hint of a twitch in Aoshi's mouth. His eyes betrayed no emotion. Did he imagine Aoshi smiling just now? Kenshin was not sure. He picked up his chopsticks and returned to slurping his ramen.

Kenshin nodded and Aoshi forced his face to remain impassive. It was a good thing that Kenshin was going to go along with him. This was all part of his and (mostly) Misao's master plan.

-----

"You got the name right?"

"Yeah, I have the name."

"Ok, tell me the name of that restaurant again," demanded Aoshi into the phone.

"It's Tomodachi," said Misao.

"Yes!Tomodachi. Tell Kaoru to be there at 7:30. The reservation is under 'Shinomori.'"

"Great! Tomo at 8 then!"

"7:30! And its TomoDACHI, Misao!"

"Great! She'll meet him at Tomo!"

-----

Kaoru stood in front of the restaurant. It didn't look like anything special to her. Kaoru could not understand why Misao had insisted that she wear a nice dress to this dump. Tomo had a gaudy neon sign spelling out "TOMO" in Roman letters. Kaoru supposed that whoever made the restaurant thought the sign looked cool. To Kaoru it looked extremely trashy. Kaoru pushed open the crusty glass door and looked inside. The smell of cheap scenting oils mixed with foul smelling incense. She looked around and saw grimy plastic tables and tiles that were thick with dust.

"How can I help ya?"

Kaoru looked and saw a waiter wearing a stained white shirt holding a small tray.

"Uh, I'm supposed to meet someone here…"

"Oh have a seat then." The man pointed to a table on the far side of the cramped restaurant. Kaoru skirted around the filthy plastic tables and made her way to the table indicated. He set a tattered menu in front of her and said, "when you're ready to order, just let me know."

Kaoru glared at the waiter who bowed at her and scurried to the other side of the restaurant. She looked at her watch in the dingy lighting of the restaurant. It said 8:30.

Where on earth was Misao?

------

The waiter approached the redhaired man sitting at his table with caution. "Sir, it is 9 in the night and you have yet to order anything…"

"I'll order when I'm good and ready," the redhaired man growled.

The waiter rocked on his feet, looking troubled, "Sir… you've been here for an hour and a half and you haven't ordered a thing… All you've done is shred bread and drink water. If you're not going to order anything, I'll have to ask you to leave."

The redhaired man turned an angry gaze to the waiter. Hard amber eyes stared at him.

"You may take as long as you need, to order sir!" the waiter squeaked and ran away.

-------

"With any luck, Himura and Kaoru should have met by now!"

"You DID tell your friend Kaoru that the restaurant's name is Tomodachi, right? And that the reservation was under the name 'Shinomori?'"

"Oops. Kaoru is going to kill me…"

At that moment, Aoshi's palm connected with his face. Repeatedly.

------

**Author's Notes:** of course they're not going to meet yet! I know what I'm doing, I swear. Really. I needed to get this bit of silliness out of the way so we can progress to the more serious stuff. (it won't get angsty, it just isn't a comedy). I promise the next chapter is going to come out soon. I'm working on THIS fanfic and the battousai's woman and I have an idea for another one and I have finals and I have two internships and I'm in school so please, bear with me. I also have my personal fiction and I'm working on a bazillion stories. So please understand if this fanfiction is not my only priority. Plus I have decreed that the month of December is the month of gundam. I have 30 years worth of anime to watch. That takes a lot of out of you.

Tomo and Tomodachi both mean friend. Of course most people use tomodachi, not tomo by itself. Dachi/tachi is something you attach to living subjects to indicate that there are more than one. Anata is you Anata-tachi is (multiple)you. Haruka-san is clearly haruka by her lonesome, Haruka-san-tachi means haruka and the people she's with. Hope that isn't too confusing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note**: I stand by my defense of kenshin's short hair. If you read volume 28 of the manga, Kenshin's hair is short in the last couple of pages. If you read Haru Ni Sakura in the Kenshin Kaden, his hair is short. So it's cannon, you sissies. Anyway, this story is finally moving to the place I want it to go to. You'll see. You will get what you want soon. I promise.

**Chikatetsu Ni**

**Chapter 9**

She heard the other line ringing. If she decided to back out now, it would be far too late. She needed to do this now, before she lost her resolve, before she chickened out. It was too late to put a stop to this now, because the other party picked up.

"Hello?"

"Kamatari-san?"

"Oh good morning Kaoru-chan! What time can we expect you in today?"

She walked into her kitchenette. The phone was hot against her face. "Uh, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, Kamatari-san…"

"Oh, God. Don't tell me…"

"That would be why I'm calling you now, at 6:30 and not when my shift starts. You have about three hours to replace me for today, Kamatari-san."

"Is there no way you can't take off another day?"

"I don't think so, I'm sorry. I really would like today off."

"This is so short notice, Kaoru-chan. But only because you're such a great worker. I'll let you get away with it."

She smiled into the phone and hung up immediately. She needed to get ready. It was almost time for her train to depart. The train left came at 7:03 AM and left at 7:05 AM.

This AM her hair was loose and long, like a black river down her back. Her clothing was just as simple. Only a knee-length jean skirt and a plain black tee tucked neatly into her skirt. She only carried her keys, an ID and her train pass in her pockets. There was no need for anything else on this AM.

Already, the streets of Tokyo swelled with the immense sea of people on their way to wherever their feet and mass transit led them. She didn't fight against the current of the large crowd but allowed herself to be swept in the mad rush of people. There was no jostling and pushing on her part. It was like being swept up in a visceral dream. The mass of people swirled into a conglomerate of color. The sea of faces blurred into a many-eyed and many-legged single entity that was the rush hour of downtown Tokyo.

Before she knew it, she was on the entrance to the downtown side of the train station. The side opposite to where she normally took the train. People congealed in front of the entrance and she awoke from her trance-like state. She rushed down the stairs, leading the throng of salary men and high school girls that rushed behind her.

She glanced at her watch and saw that she had a minute to spare. It was 7:02. The train was sure to be pulling into the station soon. Hurriedly, she passed her train pass through the gate and started to push her way through, desperate. Through the crowd of people, she saw what she was looking for. A redhead teetered on the edge of the platform, his head turned down. She could only assume he was reading a news paper or some book. He did not wear a suit like the horde of salary men surrounding him, but dark jeans and a blue collar tee-shirt. In his hand he held a leather brief case.

A rumble sounded in the distance and the platform started to tremble slightly. Shining lights coming from afar moved closer. The crowd of people swarmed around her and she had a sudden feeling of claustrophobia, enclosed between the high school girls with over-large tights and too small bags. The crowd shifted and she darted through pregnant women and former sumo wrestlers. She pushed against punch-permed yakuza and early morning cosplayers.

There he was—only a few feet away. She pushed with renewed desperation against the crowd as the train pulled in completely and the doors opened. It was 7:04 AM. She stood next to a pole and then reached a slender hand to grab onto his shoulder. At that moment, the part time train pushers pushed the buzzing multitude into the train. Her hand briefly graced his shoulder. Braced as she was against the pole, she was not pushed into the train. The redheaded man turned, his purple eyes searching behind him, puzzled. As the train swallowed him, his eyes widened with shocked disbelief.

He could not move against the press of the crowd on the train. She stood, stupefied, in front of the closing train, with her hand extended, touching its cool metal.

It was 7:06 AM and the train rumbled loudly as it exited the station.

------

Author's Notes: I know you probably want to beat me with a stick. Or you're gnashing your teeth in anger and banging your head on a desk. Or you are face palming yourself. Uh. (runs away).

So express your rage or your joy in a review!

Ok so I know it's pretty much been Kenshin and Kaoru running around. Having pervy thoughts and not meeting each other. Their meeting is in the stars! I swear. It's acomin' to you real soon. Girl Scouts' Honor.

This chapter seriously needed to happen otherwise this story was not going to go anywhere. And why Kaoru going after Kenshin and not the other way around? Well. You know what, I'm really freaking sick of the guy always chasing the girl.

And the fact that I didn't let them meet yet, well, that's the way the bell tolls babies.

You know you love it.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes: I'm sure you gathered that Kenshin and Kaoru did not meet because I deemed it not necessary for them to meet at that moment. I apologize (haha) if you did not like this plot point. Most of you seem to be sorely understanding individuals. I'm writing this story my way, which means in the way I wish to write it and only for the sole purpose of entertaining my fangirly soul and hopefully entertaining yours. I'm not getting paid to write. (I wish!) So please just bare with me. I'm a full-time student in college with two internships and 4 reading intensive classes and a writing class. I also have a part time job and I go to church on the weekends and I like to pretend to have a life by visiting people I know. I'm sorry if I can't update as often as you (and I) would like me to update. Be patient my lovelies. I must reiterate the following : _**I KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING.**_ NOW, if that wasn't enough emphasis for you… I. KNOW. WHERE. THIS. IS. GOING. I'm not "going with the flow." There is a plan. So there. My little rant is done. And now on with the fanfic…

**Chikatetsu Ni**

**Chapter 10**

He could not believe it. He almost dare not believe it. He could believe the unbearable press of the crowd and the rigidness of Japanese business men, but he dare not believe what his eyes just saw. Chills ran down his spine as he remembered… she stood there. She stood there, with her arm reaching out to him, trying to clutch onto his shoulder as he got swept up in the sea of commuters. Gooseflesh rose up and down on his body and his fingers spasmed in his anger and disbelief. Never had he been so disappointed. Never had she been so close, but so far away. In a city of millions uncaring people, one nameless stranger stole his heart.

The train stopped and the doors opened and people rushed out of the train. The pressure of the crowed abated momentarily and he looked up at the colorful advertisements on the train. He saw briefcases and book bags in the overhead compartment. His eyes slid over gaudy words, not really reading them. Soon, the gooseflesh left him and a feeling of numb disbelief settled in its wake. She couldn't have been standing there, he assured himself. It had simply been a trick of his mind. His brain was foggy and hazy from little sleep last night.

The train doors opened once more, on his stop. He stepped off the train quickly and marched up the stairs. His body, having made this journey thousands of times, carried him automatically towards the library, some blocks away. His mind was elsewhere, wondering if he had really seen her in the train station. He bowed greetings to many people, without thinking about it. Before he realized it, he was in his office, and at his desk.

He could only remember how she stood there with her hand extended and her face determined. Her silky black hair had been in a simple ponytail and her clothing was plain. But none of that mattered to him. She had been there, trying to see _him_. Would he be able to see her, or would she always remain nothing but the object of his dark fantasies? He could not spend the rest of his life pining for a fantasy woman. It was not practical, no matter how much he wanted to do it.

He turned on his computer and started to fill out order forms for books with a practiced hand. His body was on autopilot, but his mind was reeling. Perhaps God had willed for them not to meet. Well, he thought with a twisted smile, if he had to fight with God to get to her, he would.

His eyes went from a steely blue to molten amber.

------

Hot tears of disappointment and shame flowed down her cheeks before she could stem them. She wanted to pound her head against the metal pole she rested against in her anger. It had been a foolish plan, concocted at the last minute. It had backfired in her face, and she had absolutely nothing to show for it. There had been no reason for her to take the day off of work, none at all. Now she wasted train fare, standing in the train station crying like an idiot. There was no longer any need for here to stay there. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she strained against the ever-swelling crowd. Rush hour was almost over; they pressed against her and around her and she could not move against them.

Soon the crowd around her dissipated and she walked up the stairs and out of the train station, disappointment filling her every cell. She did not bother to wipe away her tears, but let them stream down her face. She was hunched over with her hands limp at her sides. Would they ever meet before she lost her resolve? She walked along the shady side of the streets. Clerks in front of stores called out greetings or tried to press free samples into her hands and she rejected them all. She got to her building and made her way into her apartment. After kicking off her shoes, she fell straight into bed and cried herself to sleep.

-----

Kamatari stood in front of the kitchen, tapping his feet impatiently. He looked down for a moment to admire his shoes. Even though he was dressed as a guy, he had to admire his own impeccable taste. There was no way that any Japanese business man would wear such an elegant shoe. It was of a shiny patent leather and had very fine shoe laces. He wore a dark grey Armani business suit and his hair had been slicked back with gel. He wore no makeup today. Well, only a little bit of foundation and some blush! Only enough makeup to be natural, and he had clear nail polish on his nails. In his hands was an empty leather suitcase and on his face, dark glasses with no lenses. Kamatari felt he fit the role of a stylish Japanese business man to a T. It was too bad that Japanese businessmen couldn't wear skirts; he had just bought the cutest mini skirt, too.

He looked at his watch and saw that he was late. There was nothing more he hated in the world than being late. Actually, he hated Ugg boots and Twilight, but that didn't count right now.

"Where the hell is Misao!" he screamed into the kitchen. Waitresses laden with heavy trays of breakfast food shuffled by quickly to escape Kamatari's wrath. His face twisted with anger. "How in the hell am I supposed to leave her in charge if she's NOT HERE?!"

Misao ran into the kitchen, pulling her kimono into place and patting her hair down. "I'm here! Don't get your panties in a twist, Boss-Lady-man. I'm here."

"You're twenty minutes late!"

"I needed a cigarette or three this morning with my coffee," Misao said, the picture of innocence. Her green eyes revealed no discomfort under Kamatari's death glare. She turned behind her to a woman who was brewing a pot of tea. "You know how it is."

"You're in charge today," Kamatari said hurriedly as he ran about the room handing papers to people. "You need to be here the entire day because your friend copped out on me and is at home."

"Kaoru-chan's at home?" Misao said. She was following Kamatari, reading the papers he handed to various people. She wore a blue furisode with pink cherry blossoms falling as the pattern. Misao took a string from her obi and tied her long sleeves back.

Kamatari walked out the door and everyone bowed him off.

"Time for work!" Misao said cheerily. She reached into her cubby at the end of the kitchen and tucked her notepad into her obi. She walked outside with a big smile on her face to greet the first customers of the day.

-----

**Author's Notes**: furisode is a kimono unmarried girls wear that has really long sleeves. This is what Kaoru usually wears in the manga/anime. Means she's single. We're almost done. What you want is so close you can almost taste it. Smell it, 'cause it smells lovely.

I know the chapter was super short, and mostly plot and no interaction between k/k and like nothing to indicate that anything is going to happen, but _all_ the pieces are in their places. And now, we are finally at that place where _I_ wanted to be five years ago. Damn I've been writing this fanfiction for five years. Well it's almost done. It's been a long journey, but thanks for sticking with me.

Keep sticking with me babies, 'cause it ain't over yet.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes**: You'll see.

(disclaimer) [Rebecca does not own Rurouni Kenshin. It's just that the characters are so fun to play with.]

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Black acrid smoke curled towards the heavens. Red lights from fire trucks flashed as the sharp wails of sirens pierced the air. Kamatari was dimly aware that there were a group of people pressed against his back, staring at the disaster, but all he was able to process was Misao kneeling on the ground next to him and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Kamatari-san!" She wailed between sobs. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!

Kamatari did not know what to say. He looked in mute disbelief as the black smoke continued to rise. He saw fire fighters holding giant hoses with gushing torrents of water directed at his café. He did not want to believe it. Somewhere, under the numb disbelief, the sight of the firemen with giant hoses seemed strangely erotic to him. It was a thought he did not register completely. Kamatari found that he could not move. Sounds were distorted, as though he were hearing them through a glass cup. His lifework, his pride and joy had all come crashing down in a matter of mere moments.

"The building was old," said someone near the sobbing Misao. "It dated from before the War. I'm surprised it lasted this long, to be honest with you."

Another voice said, "It was faulty wiring. Girl you need to pick yourself off the floor and stop crying. Honjo-san, you're lucky that nothing went off with anyone inside your café. With a building made completely out of wood, rice paper paneling, and that old fashioned stove of yours, I am surprised that you weren't burnt to a crisp, years ago."

Kamatari came out of his reverie and stared at the man who spoke second. The man was a short and balding man with narrow eyes who spoke briskly.

"Will I be able to collect on my insurance?" Kamatari asked.

"Yes," the bald man said. "Once you get repairs and bring this building up to code, I'm sure you'll all be up and running from six months to a year."

"Six months to a year!" shrieked Misao in disbelief. She stood up; her tear-streaked and swollen face a mask of anger. She advanced on the bald man with her finger out. "What the hell am I supposed to do for a job, huh, baldy?"

The man did not back away from Misao, even as she glared at him and jabbed him with her finger. He said, "I don't know, missy. There's always jobs for women if you look, like hostessing. That's not any of my concern."

"_Hostessing?!"_ Misao clenched her hands into fists.

"Keep looking at me like that little girl, and you won't have to worry about a job!" hissed the man. "I'll have you arrested for harassment!"

The man walked away and Kamatari held Misao down as she shouted, "Harrasment! I'll show you harassment, you stupid bald man! You'll never know what's harassment 'til I kecho giri you in the freakin' face!"

"Misao-chan! Shut up! He's gone." Kamatari snarled in her ear. He softened his voice when Misao stopped struggling and stood limp against him. "Go home, Misao-chan. I'll call you after I tell the girls what happened."

"Yes, Kamatari-san," Misao whispered and started to walk away from Kamatari and the smoldering remains of Kamatari's Café.

----------

Kaoru stared at her cellphone in disbelief. She got a text message from Kamatari saying: _THE RESTAURANT HAS BURNT DOWN. WE ARE NOW CLOSED. WILL DISCUSS WITH ALL OF YOU WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TOMORROW. CIAO._

How could the restaurant have burned down? It was not something she could fathom. She had been working there for so long that she could not picture herself not working there, not seeing the same faces of her co-workers or of her regular patrons. She could not picture herself taking the train in another direction, from another platform, or to another place. She could not picture missing out on her handsome stranger. Her knees felt weak all of the sudden, and her stomach clenched painfully. She clutched her cell and dialed Misao's number.

"Misao-chan!" she said when Misao answered the phone. "Say it isn't true!"

"'Fraid so," Misao said grimly. "The stupid fire marshal said it would take six months to a year to repair."

Kaoru gasped with shock. "What the hell are we supposed to do for a job? Sit here and make doilies? I can't afford to do anything without a job, you know."

"That stupid bastard," Kaoru heard Misao growl into the phone. "He told me to go work in a hostess club. Can you imagine? Me, a hostess?"

Kaoru snorted at the image: Misao, dressed in impossibly high heels, batting her eyelashes at stupid males while trying to get them to drink Dom Perignon.

"Exactly," Misao said. "over my dead body. Then he threatened to have me arrested for harassment. Can you imagine? Me? Arrested for harassing someone?"

"Actually," Kaoru said, laughing, "yeah, I can. All too clearly."

"You're lucky you're not in the same room with me," Misao said. "I'd throw some kunai at you."

"Misao," said Kaoru in a serious voice. "Stop cosplaying as a ninja girl. You'd never be a ninja. You're nothing but a weasel girl."

"At least this weasel girl has a man, and doesn't look like a statue with giant testicles!"

"Low blow, Makimachi. Low blow."

"All's fair in love and war, baby," Misao said. "I gotta go. Bye now."

Kaoru looked at her phone in disgust. Everything Misao had told her bothered her. There was sure to be a solution to this. She just did not know what it was going to be.

------

Kaoru fidgeted in her seat. Next to her, sat Misao, who was rigid with fear. To Misao's right, sat the nine other girls they worked with. Their faces were unreadable. No one said anything, even as Kamatari walked amongst them, handing out cups of tea.

"Kamatari-san," Kaoru spoke into the tense silence. "Let me get a squeeze of lemon and and honey please?"

"It's in the kitchen Kaoru-chan," he said. "Help yourself."

Kaoru stood and walked into the small kitchen of Kamatari's apartment. She found lemons in the fridge and honey on the countertop. She cut the lemon and squeezed it into her peppermint green tea and then added the honey and stirred it vigorously. She sipped it; the bitterness and the sweetness blended on her tongue in an enticing way.

"Kaoru-chan!" Kamatari said from the other room. "Hurry up."

"Coming!" Kaoru said. She sat down next to Misao, sipping her tea.

Kamatari started, "You know the restaurant burned down yesterday. Apparently, there was faulty wiring and it was an old building so it was bound to happen sooner or later. Don't feel bad Misao-chan. Fate has a funny way of working sometimes. I'm glad that none of my girls got hurt in that fire. It's tough. But we'll work through it. I promise."

"But Kamatari-san!" protested Misao. "You heard that stupid bald man, they said they'd take like six months to a year to repair it!"

Gasps of shock filled the room. Kaoru started to shake with anger. One girl shouted, "How are we supposed to wait that long?"

"Calm down girls," Kamatari said. "You won't starve. I guarantee it."

"We can't all live with you, now can we Kamatari-san?" Kaoru said.

Kamatari's temple started to pulsate back and forth. _Deep breath_, he told himself. _Deep, DEEP breath. _He put his fingers to his temples and moved his fingers in a circular motion. He sat down in a chair, trying to drown out the angry mutterings of the eleven women that sat in his room.

"Shut up! All of you."

There was a prompt silence in the room.

"Thank you," said Kamatari. "It isn't like I'm going to let you all starve. What do you take me for? The insurance money is coming this week and I can pay you for the month of work you're about to miss."

"Month?" Misao said. "But the man said six to a year!"

Kamatari put his face in his palm. "Misao-chan. Let me FINISH. I _was_ going to wait to tell you girls this, but clearly the fates planned otherwise. I bought another location, and I've been fixing it up because I wanted to add onto this, hopefully make it a chain. But I can't do that right _now_. I'll just let you girls work there instead."

Eleven blank faces stared at him. He continued, "If you wait a month, you'll be back at work, girls. It's almost done. I'll just have the contractor rush his men so we can be in working order soon enough."

"Three weeks," Misao said. There were murmurs of agreement from the other women. "Do it in three weeks and we'll just consider it an extended vacation."

Kamatari smiled. "Three weeks it is then. It'll be farther for some of you, but we can just adjust your shifts so the commute won't be too troublesome. Kamatari walked to a table with a subway map and the eleven women crowded around him to look on.

------

Amber eyes surveyed the passersby. They scurried like nervous ants; they were packed into the trains like sardines in a can. People who caught the full glare of those eyes averted their gaze quickly. The morning rush was beginning to dwindle. He had been there for almost three hours, hands crossed over his chest, posing like a sentinel and glowering out over the crowd. He was angry.

He stood on the wrong side of the tracks, waiting. She had not been there all morning. Her normal train did not leave until 7:03 in the morning. He had not seen her in three weeks. He could not explain to himself how she could be there so suddenly and then not be there at all. It seemed it had been a short while ago that he saw her across the platform, licking her finger with a pink tongue. It seemed that only yesterday, her hand reached out for him on the other side of the platform as the train swallowed him up during the morning rush.

He released his arms with a defeated sigh. He could not afford to wait any longer, because he had to work. A silver train snaked into the station and he boarded it. He sat on a chair in the corner of the car, and stared at his knees. It made no sense; a sensible voice in his head informed him. Why was he three hours late to work so that he could try and meet some woman he exchanged heated looks with? He had refused dates, offers of sex, and offers of company, all for a woman that he had seen on the train.

Perhaps it was time to let her go, the sensible voice urged.

_She is mine,_ he thought. _She is mine and I will have her._

The train thundered across the tracks, but all he could hear in his head was: _I will have her…_

The day had passed without much event; he placed an order for a book here and shelved a book there. The sensible voice in his head fled with the tedium of his work. The monotonous work allowed him to indulge in his favorite fantasy of meeting this woman. He would take her to the back room with the sturdy wooden bookshelves and ravish her there. Her soft black hair would fall on his shoulders; the normally quiet room would fill with the sounds of her pleasure. He would smile as his fingers would ghost across her smooth skin and his mouth would grant her undeniable delight.

He longed to hear his name escape her lips as her chest heaved in the throes of passion. He imagined her voice to be sweet, her taste to be delectable.

_She is mine_, his heart sang as he shelved books. _She is mine,_ every fiber of his being decreed as he walked out of the quiet library in search for his lunch.

Bright sun glinted off of the windows of tall buildings. Store clerks advertised merchandise from in front of their doors. People ran about like colorful insects; cars swarmed like glittering bugs on the busy streets of Tokyo. The light changed, and he crossed the street, following the crowd and not paying attention to where he was going. He was in need of lunch, but unsure of where to dine. That morning, there had been no time to make a lunch box.

A new restaurant caught his eye. A girl in a pink kimono called out a cheerful, "Welcome!" to passersby and beckoned them to come in. GRAND OPENING said a sign that the girl held as she bowed and waved people into the store. She turned her bright greeting towards him, and he grinned suddenly. Perhaps going into this restaurant was the right thing to do. The name on the store, Kamatari's Café, seemed vaguely familiar. He could not recall the name with precision.

The door slid open and another kimono-clad girl with brown hair welcomed him in.

"One, for lunch, please," he said. The girl guided him to the back of the restaurant.

"Your waitress will be with you shortly," she said. "Her name is—"

"Hey!" came the voice of a patron. "Waitress! Come here!"

"Coming, sir!" she called to the voice. She turned to him and said, "Sorry, sir. Please excuse me. Just sit yourself down in the back and your waitress will be with you shortly. There is a menu already on the table."

He made it to the back of the restaurant, removed his shoes and sat in the booth, cross legged. Many kimono-clad young women scurried around the restaurant, laden with heavy trays, their geta slapping out erratic rhythms against the wooden floor. He did not see anyone coming towards him, so he opened his menu and started to examine it. Cold noodles sounded appealing at the moment. He picked up the sound of feet shuffling in his direction, but did not look at their owner and perused the desert menu.

"Here is your tea, sir," said a voice above his head a little breathlessly as though its owner had run from somewhere. "And your hot towel."

He put the menu down to accept the hot town and found himself staring into a pair of startlingly familiar blue eyes. His mouth went slack jaw with shock. The nametag on her apron read "KAORU" in hiragana.

The tea tray fell from her hands and shards of clay scattered all over the floor. Hot liquid ran in the crevices between the wooden tiles. She looked on in disbelief.

"What would you like to have to eat, sir?" she whispered.

_You._

His mouth was abruptly dry. No words would form as he gaped at her like a fish in a bowl.

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* * *

**Author's Notes:** Happy? Mad? Sad? Well tell me in a review! They've finally met! I hope you're glad and that your patience has been satisfied. (Hur Hur). We have one more chapter of this and an epilogue; then we are finito. It's been a good ride and I love you all for reading. Please review. Please!!

As always, even the best intentions go awry. There will be some citrusy goodness soon. (next chapter. I swear).

At the very least, I've given you some smutty thoughts.

Love you for reading this.


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